Page 96 of Centaur Bolt

The shops quickly gave way to houses, and they gradually increased in size along with their fenced yards. Which then grew to mowed pastures around estates.

We rounded a bend and saw a large field with galloping Centaurs. They carried sticks in their hands and batted a ball about the size of a watermelon. I noticed they used their feet as much as their sticks. The scrabbling kind of play moved almost too fast for my eye to follow.

A smaller group stood beneath some trees, and it was then I realized how young they were. Not children, but teenagers, likely, judging by their builds and by the way they stared at us as we passed—that slightly rude, partly guilty expression.

We’d gone by them when the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I looked back. The smaller group beneath the trees now walked toward an equally small cluster of cloaked figures at the far end of the field. Not Centaurs, these only had two legs.

One of them looked right at me—and the world spun to a halt—I felt curiously drawn to the slender figure. Strange.

My feet continued to move despite my reaction, and the path took us into a grove of trees. As I lost sight of them, I fought the urge to turn back for another look.

“We’re here,” Kiko said.

I focused ahead of us, where a stone wall was breached by ornately wrought metal gates. They stood open, and two Centaurs guarded the entrance. One held an axe almost as big as I was, the other a huge sword. They both nodded to us and our escort, and we passed into the colony.

31

Rafael

An hour and a gate trip to another realm later, people stared at me as I walked.

Isobel might control my every move, but she couldn’t make me do it with the fluidity of nature. So I walked, but with my arms and legs stiff.

Our cloaks hid the entire group from prying eyes. Instead of building her own gate, Isobel had used the access gate to the Richin market.

For now, we needed to integrate.

Even with my stilted gait, blending in this place was easy. It was early evening, and the daytime vendors were closing shop, while the evening ones were just getting going. The clientèle was altering, with more people hugging the shadows than strolling the aisles.

Our party was large enough to discourage any thieves. Isobel let two of the Bellatis lead the way. Like the women, the males had the hoods of their cloak pulled up high enough to hide their distinctive looks. She had Aurora and the other two coven members controlling me, while she kept a mental hand on both me and our mission.

Whatever that mission might be, I dared not guess. She’d called it a recon, but for what? That I’d been brought along indicated she needed my talent—and that was not good.

We passed through the market and continued along a quiet street. The properties spread out, the houses growing larger. When we reached a meadow, the entire party slowed.

My stomach clenched. The meadow was filled with Centaurs.

Or so it seemed. When I did a quick count, there were just over twenty. Centaurs were not a prolific species. Embracing their half-human, half-equine form had come at a cost.

These were adolescents and some just entering adulthood. A group played a game that involved a lot of pushing and shoving at full gallop. A few others clustered beneath the trees at the edges of the mowed grass, doing, no doubt, what immature adults do everywhere.

Gossiping.

We moved out into the meadow and stood in the lengthening shadows. With our hoods pulled up, we could have been anyone, but there weren’t that many two-leggers watching the action.

To my surprise, a small group broke away and trotted over to us. Five young males and one female, all sporting tattoos. The males had their hair dyed wild colors. They eyed us as they approached. Centaurs sometimes sported body ink, but I’d never seen it done to such a degree. The tattoos themselves were interesting—dark themes where death and weapons predominated.

They’d almost reached us when I felt it. An energy, at once familiar, and yet, not. I couldn’t move my body, but I twisted my head to look.

At the far end of the field—three women walked with a Centaur. Too far away to distinguish details, but my gaze fastened on the small woman with long, dark hair.

She looked right back at me until she vanished when the path diverted into the trees. My pulse thundered, and Aurora turned to see what I stared at. Fortunately, they were already gone.

Could it really have been her? The woman from my dreams?

Then the group of Centaurs reached us, and Isobel tightened her hold on me. A handsome young male led them. Beside him was a female with large dark eyes framed by a cloud of equally dark hair.

“Which one of you is the Cleanser?” the young Centaur asked.

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